Monday, March 30, 2009

While I am sure both would object, there are some striking similarities between the first two above. Both of their visions are advancements in holism. Both have been labeled incorrectly “Utopian”, for neither present answers, only a process that at most seems to be a ‘first step’ that then require reflection before proceeding. Space is both their medium of utmost importance being the medium for social change.

Both place much importance of desirability over objectivity that is a marked differentiation to the work of Duchamp and Cage. These latter individuals can be looked upon as those who expanded the concept of “framing” and how that affects and defines their medium. This framing is so powerful, they illustrated that anarchy (in the form of randomness) could indeed be objectively encompassed within it . At the time, there were those who objected to this anarchy and randomness being more a symptom of capitalism; its nature of having no goal and it lack of taking responsibility for the course it takes. This global economic meltdown might for us cause us to reflect on the process of the economic anarchy that has caused it. It is too shaky of ground to come to a conclusion on this alone.

Not only Beuys or Soleri, but many artists of which Harry Partch would quite rightfully fit are/were more concerned with ‘working on what had been spoiled”. There is a recognition that the unsorted product of an underdeveloped or damaged might not be automatically of artistic worth. Intuition, real or simulated, likewise cannot be any guarantee and this is plausibly a more realistic criticism.

Instead a space for the myriad of forces that exist within the individual, what James Hillman refers to as the ‘Inner Commune’, is the space Beuys and Soleri, and Partch wish to celebrate and develop toward its fullness. All this work about space, and in the end, it is all directed toward inward.

I could post another 20 but i thought i would go with maybe exceptional, maybe more overlooked representations.

Even outside the message, note the angular background line in the ensemble of this tune. It is quite unusual how it comes in and disappears thoughout. I can't think of another example like it.

Now where does one hear counterpoint like this in the first tune. As an aside my Stepfather was the head scenic artist on this show.

Scott Walker who started in the 60's is still going. He is probably as close as we are going to get to Schubert as a song writer we might see in our life time. This songs takes excepts from the trials of Eichmann mixed with Henry the VIII Queen Anne.

you can't embed the following. Yes Nancy Sinatra! with Lee Hazelwood. Now if one wanted to write a 16th century mass on a popular tune. This one would be my first choice. The song always struck me as about man's relationship to nature as well as a warning not to meddle with it too much either.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-SVPJM4L4

The concert includes another premiere: Flirt by Bryron Au Yong as well as works by Lois Vierk, David Lang, George Crumb and John Cage. Quite a line upI am immensely grateful to Tiffany Lin for making this opportunity available to me. The tuning has to be one of the more conservative i have used but that is no reflection on it beauty. It is a temperament invented by George Secor which works well for much 12 tone Equal temperament music. It differs than most temperaments in that it combines the recurrent sequence idea of Erv Wilson's Meta-meantone with attempting to preserve the idea of triads being equal beating. If one had to write for 12 Tone instruments but wanted a more pleasing tool to do so, this is a strong candidate. I tend to think that it might have persauded Lou Harrison to give it a try along his use of Werk. 3. But the proof is in the pudding and recommend trying it yourself. Here is the tuning called Secor 2 as expressed in deviation for 12 ET. It is spelled out so that everything is lower to not scare those afraid to tune up. Ideally one would keep A at A=440. if you try it out let me know how it works for you.Secor 2C 0.0C# -14.1D -5.9D# -7.1E -10.7F - 0.1F# -14.4G -2.9G# -9.9A -8.3A# -2.1B -13.6

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Ten Trenches

Digging for the Past, Unveiling the Future

A partnership between Bundanon Trust, University of Wollongong and Macquarie UniversityFunded by Arts NSW

Ten Trenches investigates the impact of sea-level rise on the Shoalhaven River in NSW. Auger holes and slot trenches reveal the flood behaviours of the river from up to 8,000 years ago – a period when the sea was about a metre higher than present – a level which is predicted to reoccur within the next 100 years.

Estuaries of the past; Centuries of dirt; We dive knife-in-mouth through tonnes of earth

A collaboration between a site-based artists and a river scientist: two brothers Michael and Tim Cohen. Ten Trenches is part of Bundanon Trust’s SITEWORKS project; a three year conversation between artists, scientists, historians, archaeologists and local people exploring the Bundanon site.

UPDATE

By Day Two the crew of Ten Trenches were already 27 metres down, drilling through 15 metres of beautiful soft river sand to reach a particular time period known as Pleistocene, which dates from 10,000 years and older. The crew have discovered traces of an extinct species of tree.

On Day Three the seven-tonne excavator arrived and the digging of the slot trenches begun. To date, four trenches have been dug, positioned throughout the paddocks at Bundanon.